Bifunctional flexible electrochromic energy storage devices based on silver nanowire flexible transparent electrodes

Abstract

Flexible electrochromic energy storage devices (FECESDs) for powering flexible electronics have attracted considerable attention. Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are one kind of the most promising flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs) materials for the emerging flexible devices. Currently, fabricating FECESD based on AgNWs FTEs is still hindered by their intrinsic poor electrochemical stability. To address this issue, a hybrid AgNWs/Co(OH)2/PEDOT:PSS electrode is proposed. The PEDOT:PSS could not only improve the resistance against electrochemical corrosion of AgNWs, but also work as functional layer to realize the color-changing and energy storage properties. Moreover, the Co(OH)2 interlayer further improved the color-changing and energy storage performance. Based on the improvement, we assembled the symmetrical FECESDs. Under the same condition, the areal capacitance (0.8 mF cm−2) and coloration efficiency (269.80 cm2 C−1) of AgNWs/Co(OH)2/PEDOT:PSS FECESDs were obviously higher than AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS FECESDs. Furthermore, the obtained FECESDs exhibited excellent stability against the mechanical deformation. The areal capacitance remained stable during 1000 times cyclic bending with a 25 mm curvature radius. These results demonstrated the broad application potential of the AgNWs/Co(OH)2/PEDOT:PSS FECESD for the emerging portable and multifunctional electronics.